Despite the large plumes of smoke and red-hot flames, no injuries were reported and no homes were lost, despite being threatened for much of Tuesday afternoon.

Homeowner John Guillory was feeling grateful.

"If it came over that ridge, this canyon would have exploded and all of these houses would be gone, everyone of them," he said.

The fire was first reported at 12:13 p.m. on a steep hillside near Mountain Boulevard and Edwards Avenue and prompted the evacuation of about 50 homes threatened by the fire.

Many neighborhoods were evacuated and Merritt College students were also sent home.

"Oakland fire jumped on it really quick," Cal Fire spokeswoman Pam Temmermand said. Her agency assisted Oakland firefighters. "We were able to get a handle on this fairly quickly so that's good news," she said.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning through Wednesday afternoon for the East Bay hills because of dry weather conditions that pose a high risk of wildfires.A four-alarm grass fire in the Oakland hills north of Interstate Highway 580 is 60 percent contained Tuesday afternoon, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said.